Laboratory Concrete Specimens Waste, a Case Study on Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

Material laboratories generally receive extensive amounts of concrete specimens for testing purposes. The tested specimen rises an environmental issue from the point of view of material waste accumulation. A study at the material laboratory was conducted, resulting in a database of daily concrete waste deposited at the landside, and the predicted increase trends based on a one-decade period of data collection. Based on these data, the emission of CO2 resulting from these test samples was evaluated, and a life cycle assessment plan was designed through impact assessment and interpretation of results. Practical solutions for a cradle-to-cradle and cradle-to-gate approach were explored, implemented and evaluated.